Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Fight Winner Could Face Jessie Vargas, Says Bob Arum
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Vargas, who owns a 27-1 record with 10 knockouts, claimed the vacant World Boxing Organization welterweight title with a ninth-round stoppage win against Sadam Ali on Saturday in Washington.
Following the match, Arum said that he wants Vargas to face the winner of the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, which will take place on April 9 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“It’s up to the winner of the fight but it’s definitely the fight I want to make, Vargas vs the winner of Pacquiao-Bradley,” Arum told BoxingScene.
Arum had nothing but praises for Vargas, saying that the 26-year-old proved why he could be lined up with the biggest names in boxing today like Bradley and Pacquiao. The Hall of Fame promoter also credited trainer Dewey Cooper for preparing Vargas well for the bout.
“This was the best performance of his career,” Arum continued. “We always knew he had this in him. I think he had a great training camp and it showed in his performance. We knew he had punching power but he could never let his hands go.”
Vargas’ victory against Ali came just nine months after the Los Angeles native took the first loss of his career against Bradley in June 2015. Vargas declared that he wants to avenge his unanimous decision loss to Bradley regardless of the result of the Pacquiao-Bradley bout next month.
Vargas felt that he was robbed of a chance to knock Bradley out in their first meeting. Down in all scorecards, Vargas launched a vicious rally in the final round and hurt Bradley, but referee Pat Russell stopped the fight prematurely. The referee thought he heard the final bell with still 10 seconds left in the match.
“It burns me how my last fight against Bradley went down,” Vargas said via BoxingNews24. “It was wrong. But Top Rank got me a title fight and I trained hard with a new team. I only want one fight which I deserve to get, a rematch with Bradley. I don’t care if he beats Pacquiao or not, I want Bradley.”
